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Fatwa CenterCalculating Zakaah of gold, silver and money
Question
I would like to know whether the calculation for Zakah mentioned below is correct: Total Cash Saved during a year: Rs.XXXXX Total Value of Gold & Silver: Rs.YYYYY Less: Balance of Loan to be paid taken For purchase of plot last year:Rs.ZZZZ 2.5% on Net Balance = Zakah Amount Please if u can clarify that the method which I have applied is correct. Also I am based in UAE and convert the amount in Rupees at the prevailing rate.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Gold and silver complement each other and are added to the deposited money to make up the Zakaah Nisaab. Now, if all three (money, gold, silver) added together reach the Nisaab (value of 85 grams of gold or value of 500 grams of silver) and if this Nisaab has been owned for a lunar year, then its Zakaah becomes obligatory, and it is 2.5% of the value.
This should be done in the way you mentioned in your question, i.e. (total cash deposited for a year + total value of gold and silver) and giving out 2.5% of this amount. Now if the debts of the owner of these properties exceed the value of the properties themselves, then he does not have to pay any Zakaah unless he owns other properties that are more than his necessity on which Zakaah is not due and that could pay these debts; in this case, he does not deduce the value of debt from the Zakaah money.
The questioner should know that Zakaah is due only on the gold and silver if deposited or if used in trade. However, if this gold or silver is for private use as jewelry, then no Zakaah is due on it according to the majority of scholars. As for your sending your Zakaah to India, it is lawful to do so if there are people there who are poorer than the ones with whom you live and there is no harm to pay it in Rupees at its prevailing rate.
For more benefit on the Nisaab on gold and silver, or money, please refer to Fataawa 120900, 310765, 329086, 81355, 81332 and 86629.
Allah knows best.
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